2015 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund Recipient

Cliff Curtis has appeared in and produced some of New Zealand’s most successful films.  He was inducted into the APSA Academy in 2010 for producing Boy which was nominated for Best Children’s Feature Film. He is one of the development grant recipients for his feature film project The Fox Boy.

“Inspired by an archival still photograph of a Maori boy dressed in Western clothes The Fox Boy is an intimate epic which explores the contradictions and tensions of New Zealand colonial history.”

Ami Drozd has been working as a feature film director and documentary filmmaker for over 30 years, and as a film editor for more than 28 years.  He was inducted into the APSA Academy in 2012 for his film My Australia which was nominated for Best Children’s Feature Film. He received one of the development grants for his feature film project Bandit.

“Bandit is a potent, multi-layered father-son saga set in the director’s Polish homeland in the aftermath of World War two.”

Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has written, directed and produced over sixteen films. She was inducted into the APSA Academy in 2013 for her film Lamma Shoftak (When I Saw You) which was nominated for Best Children’s Feature Film. She was a development grant recipient through her feature film project Wajib, which was completed in 2017 and nominated for Best Performance by an Actor at the 2017 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

“Wajib is a beautifully constructed satire which gives an unexpected insight into the complex lives of Palestinian families living in Nazareth in northern Israel.”

Surabhi Sharma studied film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, 1998. She completed a BA in Anthropology and Psychology from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai University, 1991. She was inducted into the APSA Academy in 2014 for film Bidesia in Bambai, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film. She was a development grant recipient through her documentary project Music in a Village Named 1 PB.

“Set in the desert landscapes of Rajasthan, Music in a Village Named 1 PB is an observational documentary that explores a rich and ancient music culture as it struggles to survive against the challenges of modern economic development.”